Venture capital house of the year Apax Partners

Apax Partners wins venture capital house of the year 2001 for having displayed ongoing commitment to backing early stage companies seeking startup and expansion financing in a year when many venture capital, and for that matter buyout investors, stayed clear of an increasingly uncertain investing market. However, the year, like for everyone investing in this space, was not without its complications. In March Apax Partner’s investment in PaperX, the e-business solutions provider for the European paper industry, went into receivership after failing to raise a second round of funding. However, monies invested include an undisclosed amount for a 50 per cent stake in MetaGen, the European leader of cancer genomics

and the largest biotech spin off from a German company, participation in Red-M’s E43.6 million round in April for this supplier of Bluetooth network product solutions, a E27 million second round financing for InterCell Biomedical Research & Development to support screening and vaccine R&D, (InterCell is the first spin off from Vienna Biocenter), and an GBP8 million start-up financing for Ionix Pharmaceuticals, which researches and develops novel analgesic drugs.